Jetboats....or baby ducks to the rest of the world!

These hatched a couple of days ago on a pond near us.  Yesterday they were all wildly crisscrossing the pond during a light rain shower.  I always thought that ducks and geese lined up in a row with mom out front and dad bringing up the rear but I guess we aren't the only ones on summer break!  Mom had lost control of her young ones.  They were dodging around so much I couldn't even begin to figure out if all 8 were still present and accounted for. 

Pack Trail

 Took the kids for a hike up in Rist Canyon this weekend.  On the GPS map it is called the Pack Trail but I'm not sure if that is correct or not.  We didn't really have a destination in mind...just someplace relatively close and somewhere I could find some good landscaping rocks.  We found both!  It's a good thing it was close since we went up a supposedly easy jeep trail (in my Dodge truck) and ended up turning around so we didn't get stuck out there.  That definitely added some time to our trip!

Our hike started late (11:45) so we decided to break for lunch before we even took a step.  This large rock was the perfect spot.

We saw some beautiful wildflowers.

I don't know what these flowers were going to look like but I like their bursting sack.

I liked this thistle's geometry and color.  Very cool.  I wish I could have gotten my camera to give me crisp focus on that last photo but it was not meant to be!

The bugs were amazing!  I can't believe my camera wouldn't focus on the picture above but gave me this fantastic one of the ant below.

This paper wasp next was just sitting in the middle of the trail.  Good thing we didn't step on it!

No hike would be fit for kids unless we had water to walk through, caves and rocks to climb on.

Hike: Pack Trail

Trails Used:  

Distance: 3 miles

Difficulty: Difficult
Overall average: 1.5 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 57 min
Total Ascent: 634 ft.

So hidden you couldn't even see it!

We drove up to Wyoming today and visited Curt Gowdy State Park.

It's a very scenic area with melted marshmallow type rocks located between Cheyenne and Laramie.

After the first 1/2 mile or so of open, dry, hot land the topography got more interesting.

We found water, 

water bugs,

rocks to explore,

and cattle guards to cross.

I wanted to visit the hidden falls since the temperature was suppose to reach 90 today.  I thought it'd be a good place for the kids to dip in their feet.  What I didn't count on was the 20-30 mph winds that brought that temperature down to about 70 around the falls area.  The falls weren't even much at this time of year...barely a dribble that you had to look at from the side to see.

We shared our lunch area with about 15 kids from a day camp around Cheyenne.

I passed some time watching the clouds move quickly across the sky.

 It was still a great hike with beautiful flowers through pine and aspen forest.

Gold Weed:

Wild Rose

Common Mouse Ear:

Indian Blanket

Prickly Pear Cactus:

I couldn't let my daughter's outfit go unnoticed.  I love how she rocks her outfits on these hiking excursions. At least there weren't any tights this time!

Hike: Hidden Falls

Trails Used:  Stone Temple to Pinball to Crow Creek to Hidden Falls and back

Distance: Approx. 4 miles (no GPS that day)

Difficulty: Easy  (can get hot out there so start early)